Overview

“The streets are the biggest gallery in the world.” Street art started as kids tagging their names on subway trains in 1970s New York. It was about territory and fame. Today, it is a global phenomenon. Artists like Banksy and Shepard Fairey use stencils, posters, and murals to turn city walls into political cartoons. It is art that forces you to look at it, whether you want to or not.

Core Idea

The core idea is Public Access. Museums are gatekeepers. They decide what is “good.” Street artists bypass the gatekeepers. They put the art directly in front of the people. It questions who owns the city: the corporations (billboards) or the citizens?

Formal Definition

Visual art created in public locations, usually unsanctioned artwork executed outside of the context of traditional art venues. Distinguished from Graffiti (which focuses on the stylized writing of the artist’s name) by its focus on images, characters, and narrative.

Intuition

You walk past a gray concrete wall every day. It’s ugly. One day, someone paints a giant, colorful flower on it. Suddenly, the wall is alive. The artist has “hacked” the city. They have reclaimed public space from the grayness of bureaucracy and the noise of advertising.

Examples

  • Banksy: The anonymous king of street art. He uses stencils (because they are fast) to create witty, political images. A protester throwing a bouquet of flowers instead of a Molotov cocktail. A girl frisking a soldier. He uses humor to critique war and capitalism.
  • Jean-Michel Basquiat: Started as “SAMO” in NYC, writing cryptic poetry on walls. He brought the raw energy of the street into the high-end gallery world, becoming the first black superstar artist.
  • Keith Haring: Drew radiant babies and barking dogs in white chalk on black subway advertising panels. His work was about love, AIDS awareness, and accessibility.

Common Misconceptions

  • It’s vandalism: Legally, yes. But culturally, it is often seen as beautification. Many cities now commission street artists to paint murals to gentrify neighborhoods.
  • It’s just spray paint: It includes “yarn bombing” (knitting covers for trees), “sticker art,” “wheatpasting” (posters), and “projection bombing.”
  • Broken Windows Theory: The idea that graffiti signals disorder and leads to more crime. This theory led to the “War on Graffiti” in the 90s.
  • Gentrification: The irony of street art. It starts as rebellion, but makes a neighborhood “cool,” which raises rents, which pushes the artists out.
  • Ephemeral: Like Land Art, it is temporary. It might be painted over by the city or a rival artist tomorrow. This gives it an urgency.

Applications

  • Political Protest: The Berlin Wall was covered in graffiti on the West side. The Arab Spring used street art to mock dictators. It is the voice of the voiceless.
  • Marketing: Brands now hire street artists to paint “viral” murals for ads, leading to the criticism of “selling out.”

Criticism / Limitations

  • Ego: Tagging (just writing your name) is often criticized as pure narcissism—like a dog marking its territory.
  • Visual Pollution: Not all street art is good. A bad tag on a historic building is just destruction.

Further Reading

  • Cooper, Martha. Subway Art. 1984. (The book that spread graffiti to the world).
  • Lewisohn, Cedar. Street Art: The Graffiti Revolution. 2008.
  • Gastman, Roger. The History of American Graffiti. 2011.